Greenland’s prime minister has said his people would choose Denmark over the US if they were asked to make such a choice “here and now”.
Jens-Frederik Nielsen’s remark at a joint news conference with Denmark’s prime minister is the strongest by a representative of the semi-autonomous Danish territory since US President Donald Trump renewed his plan to annex it.
Trump says the US needs to “own” Greenland to defend against Russia and China. The White House has suggested buying the island, but not ruled out the use of force to annex it.
Denmark is a fellow Nato member and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that military force would spell the end of the trans-Atlantic defence alliance.
Asked later on Tuesday what he made of Nielsen’s comments, Trump said: “That’s their problem, I disagree with him… That’s going to be a big problem for him.”
Despite being the most sparsely populated territory, Greenland’s location between North America and the Arctic makes it well placed for early warning systems in the event of missile attacks, and for monitoring vessels in the region.
Trump has repeatedly said that Greenland is vital to US national security, claiming without evidence that it was “covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place”.
The US already has more than 100 military personnel permanently stationed at its Pituffik base in Greenland’s north-western tip – a facility that has been operated by the US since World War Two.
Under existing agreements with Denmark, the US has the power to bring as many troops as it wants to Greenland.
But Trump told reporters in Washington last week that a lease agreement was not good enough – the US “had to have ownership” and “Nato’s got to understand that”.
At the news conference in the Danish capital Copenhagen, Frederiksen did not mince her words as she condemned the “completely unacceptable pressure from our closest ally”.
She warned that “there are many indications that the most challenging part is ahead of us”.
The Greenlandic prime minister said they were “facing a geopolitical crisis”, but the island’s position was clear:
“If we have to choose between the United States and Denmark here and now, we choose Denmark,” he said.
“One thing must be clear to everyone. Greenland does not want to be owned by the United States. Greenland does not want to be governed by the United States. Greenland does not want to be part of the United States.”
The Copenhagen news conference comes a day before the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen and his Greenlandic counterpart Vivian Motzfeldt are due to travel to the US to meet Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Denmark’s Nato allies – major European countries as well as Canada – have rallied to its support this week with statements reaffirming that “only Denmark and Greenland can decide on matters concerning their relations”.
Stressing they were as keen as the US on Arctic security, they have said this must be achieved by allies, including the US, “collectively”.
They also called for “upholding the principles of the UN Charter, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of borders”.
Concerns over the future of the territory resurfaced after Trump’s use of military force against Venezuela on Saturday to seize its president, Nicolás Maduro.
Trump previously made an offer to buy the island in 2019, during his first presidential term, only to be told it was not for sale.
In recent years, there has been increased interest in Greenland’s natural resources – including rare earth minerals, uranium and iron – which are becoming easier to access as its ice melts due to climate change. Scientists think it could also have significant oil and gas reserves.
